Clothes-line support



(No Model.)

W. W. CASE. CLOTHES LINE SUPPORT.

MT1/Kfm@ i MM 7g.; AMW/1.12.1]

UNITED STATES EEicE.

PATENT CLOTHES-LINE SUPPORT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 551,260, dated December 10, 1895.

' Application tiled May 21, 1895. Serial No. 550,036. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, VILLIAM W. CASE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Clothes-Line Supports; and I do declare the following to be a i'ull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specication.

Figure l is a plan view of invention applied to a window-casing in section, the position of the device when drawn inward indicated in dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of invention. Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan view of same, bar C broken and one of disks 7i and barrel l' in section. Fig. 4: is a side view of yoke device. Fig. 5 is a similar View with slotted arm of yoke pushed forward to insert rope. Fig. G is a perspective view of socket-piece D, bifurcated arms, and pawl.

It has been heretofore, and is at present, the custom with families above the ground floor in houses in cities to have a high post or pole set up at the end oi the rear yard of the premises, to which they attach a clothesline running through a pulley and connected to another pulley attached to the outer frame of a window, which arrangement enables them to hang out their clothes to dry without the necessity of taking them down to the yard, as was formerly the custom.

The object of this invention is to provide a bracket-and-pulley device of simple and improved character for attaching the line to the window-frame, said device being so constructed and arranged as to obviate the necessity for the operator to reach out of the window in putting out or taking in clothes, a practice which is not only laborious and inconvenient, but also dangerous.

A further object is to provide a device of this character which will permit the shutters to be closed at night while the clothes are hanging out.

lVith these objects in view, the invention consists in the novel construction and coinbination of parte, all as hereinafter described and pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, the letter A designates a perforated plate or bracket which is designed to be secured to the outside of a window casing or trame, preferably at the lett-hand side. Secured to or integral with this plate or bracket is a horizontally-projecting segment-block B, which is equal to or greater than a half-circle, and whose periphery is formed with a series of teeth or projections a, which are straight at one side, and have a beveled face c? at the opposite side, the beveled face of one tooth being separated from the straight wall or face a of the succeeding tooth by an angular socket or seat a3.

C designates an arm whose length must be less than the width of the window, and which is iitted at its inner end portion with a socketpiece D, which is formed with a bifurcated extension or yoke D', arranged to embrace the segment-block B, and to pivot thereto, as indicated at d, whereby said arm is capable of being swung in a horizontal plane through an arc of one hundred and eighty degrees.

F. designates a pawl-lever which is pivoted to the arm C and is arranged t-o engage with the teeth or projections c of the segment, and also with notched projections e of the socketpiece D. A spring E seated between the power-arm of the said lever and the arm O normally maintains the pawl in engagement with the segment. Said pawl drops into one of the sockets or seats as of the segment-block and secures the arm O firmly against movement in either direction. By pressing the power-arm of the pawl-lever slightly, the pawl will rise out of this socket to the inclined face Co2, and the arm can be readily swung inward by pulling it in that direction. In like manner, by a greater pressure on the arm of said lever, the pawl can be disengaged and the arm swung outward until the desired position is reached, when the lever is released and the pawl actuated to drop into engagement again. The notches in the projections c are capable of being brought into line with the seats or sockets in the segment-block, and the notches and seats in connection with the pawl act to hold the arm O firmly in position.

IOO

The outer end of the arm C is provided with a snap-hook F or other suitable device, which is loosely connected with the arm by means of an eye on the hook which engages a second eye on the arm, as shown in Fig. 3, or by other suitable means, whereby the said arm is free to swing around at substantially right angles thereto. G designates a pulley device for the clothes-line, said pulley being loosely connected with said hook F.

It will be readily understood that the arm C, when the clothes are out on the line, is at right angles to the side of the building and extending straight out therefrom, as shown in Fig. l. lVhen, however, it is desired to have access to the line to put clothes out or take them in, the pawl-lever E is pressed to lift its pawl out of engagement with the segnient and said arm is swung inwardly through an arc of substantially one hundred and eighty degrees until it extends straight back into the room. In this position the snaphook F is at right angles to the arm and the line substantially parallel therewith. rIhe snap-hook should be two or three inches or more in length in order to give a sufficient space between the line and arm to permit the clothes to be hung on the line and pulled out of the window from the pulley without coming in contact or interfering with the arm. In this position it will he seen that the operator can perform the necessary work of putting out or taking in the clothes without reaching or straining and without danger of falling or exposure to the weather. It is of course necessary that there shall be sufficient slack in the line to permit the necessary movement of the arm C.

lVhen the arm is extended out of the window the pawl holds it securely in its position, which, instead of being straight out or away from the building, may be at any desired angle thereto. The engagement of the pawl with the notched projections c of the socket-piece D makes the lock more secure.

By placing the pawl-lever upon the swinging arm, such lever can be operated with the same hand that is employed in moving the arm, and while the arm is being swung, to keep the pawl out of engagement, as above described.

I will now describe the form of the pulley G which I prefer to use.

I employ a yoke consisting of two parallel disk or plate portions 7L, united by an arm h at the front, and the two parallel rearwardlyext'ending arms which are marked II II. The arm II is integral with one of the disk portions, but the arm Il is a separate piece, and is made to slide in a guideway formed by a diametrical opening through the disk portion. Said arm is slotted for the greater portion of its length, as indicated at h2, to enable it to ride upon the axis g of the sheave G, which is journaled between said disk portions, and to receive a locking-bolt I. Said bolt has a bearing in the arm Il and in abarrel portion I between the two arms, and is provided with a spring I2 which normally holds said bolt in engagement with the slot h2 of the arm H. IVhen it :is desired to pass the line onto the pulley, this bolt is withdrawn from engagement with the arm II, and the latter is slid forward on the axis g, which forms an opening through which the line can be introduced onto the sheave G. Said arm is then slid back and the bolt I again engaged therewith, which makes it impossible for the line to escape from its coniinement.

By the above construction, the two ends of the line can be previously joined, making an endless line, and this line can be readily and quickly slipped onto and olf from the pulley.

The said yoke is usually connected to the .snap-hook F by means of an eye or ring K,

in order that it may be readily disengaged.

The closing of the shutters while the line is out can be eifectedin two ways, as follows: The bracket being attached to the left-hand side, the right-hand shutter is first closed. The arm, with line attached, is then swung around until it is parallel with the closed shutter, and is held in that position by means of its pawl. The left shutter is then closed and fastened to the right one, there being a space between the two shutters equal to the thickness of the arm. During the day, should it be desired to exclude the sun without closing the shutters, the arm can be swung into the proper position, and the shutters bowed with their outer edges separated from each other by the thickness of the said arm. Another method of closing the shutters is to detach the pulley from the snap-hook and hang it on a nail or hook on the outside of the house, below the sill. The arm can then be swung in parallel with the sash and the shutters be entirely closed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a device for hanging clothes lines, the combination of a plate or bracket designed to be secured to a window frame and having a horizontally porjecting portion formed with peripheral teeth or projections, a horizontal arm having at its inner end a bifurcated eX- tension or yoke which embraces said segment portion and is pivotally secured thereto to swing in a horizontal plane, said extension or yoke having notched projections, whose notches are capable of being brought into line with the spaces between the said teeth and a lever carried by the said arm and having a pawl which is arranged to engage both the said teeth or projections of the segment and the notched projections of the yoke or extension, substantially as specified.

2. The herein described pulley device for hanging clothes lines, said device comprising a yoke having parallel disk or plate portions, and arms extending from said disk or plate portions, one of said arms being free to slide in one of the said portions, a spring actuated lOO EIO

bolt having a bearing in the stationary arm and adapted to engage the sliding arm, and a pulley jonrnaled between said disk or plate portions, substantially as speoiied.

3. In a device for hanging clothes lines, the combination with a bracket having a segment block formed With a series of teeth, eaoh of which has a straight Wall a and an inclined face a?, and Which are separated from eac-h other by angular seats or sockets d3, an arm having a bifnrcated extension or yoke which embraces the said block and is pivoted thereto, said extension or yoke having the notched in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM YV. CASE. Witnesses:

JAMES WILLIAM CASE, JULIUs LEHRENKRAUSS, Jr. 

